Apparatus for annealing wire.



PATENT-RD' PRB. 1s, 190s.

' J. H. ROBERTS; APPARATUS POR ANNRALING WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27.1907.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.PATENTBD PBB.18, 1908.

J. H. ROBERTS. APPARATUS FOR ANNEALI-NG WIRE...

APPLIGTION FILED JUNE 2'7. 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

-. JGHN ROBERTS, F DARLINGTON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR ANNEALING WIRE.- i

vSpecification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 190s.

Appiicaiou nea Jane 2?. 1907. serrano.' 330.996.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

i ,4 Be it known that I', JOHN HENRY Ro'ERTs,

a subject fof the King of Great Britain-resid ing at Darlington, in the 'county of Durham,

England, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Ap aratus for Annealing Wire, of which the fol vowing is a specification.

i In annealing wire, the wire is passed slowly through a long fireclay passage or tube which Y is maintained vat the desired temperature, and

y this're'clay tube is openat each end, and the t wire which is being drawn through is thus sub! jected-to 'a baking process from the time of its4 entry at'one end of the annealing oven up to the time of its exit" at the'other end, and such tubes-extend'in 1a straight line, being open at both ends,- and it is to the improvement of lthis ordinary and well known annealing furnace to whichv the present invention is direct-- ed, that is, to a furnace in which the fire clay tube or tubes through which the wire is drawn, is or areheated` by the tubes being located in the combustion flue of a furnace. A disadvantage of this 'type of furnace is that as the wire emerges from the full open end of j an annealing tube, the surface of the Wire scales 0H and thereby causes notonly a loss of Weight of the finished product, but also diminution of its strength and a roughening of its surface. L

'Now I have found by experiment that the scaling'of the wire can be preventedby, as it were, iillingthe exit ends of the aforesaid ordinary type of kannealing tubes with a flame obtained from the combustion of inflamma ble gas. and air, still employing that well known type of annealing furnace in which the reclay tubes are considerably7 greater in sectional arca than the wire passing through them, and in which the ends are not con tracted and therefore permit a joint Lorson- Anection between one length of wire and another to freely pass, which would not be the case if theends were contracted or were fitted with covers having apertures onlysuficient to pass the sectional area of a piece of wire. e i

To carry out this invention I therefore extend the fireclayannealing tubes beyond the wall of the furnace, and at a short distance froml the exit end of'the tube' and outside or beyond the wall of the furnace, I insert a pipe at rightv angles to the axis of the tube and communicating with the interior of the said" tube and through this pipe I force combustible gas .and air, which, igniting'within the mouth of the tube, completely fills the said mouth With flame, and thereby scaling of the 4wire is entirely prevented, and this without effecting any alteration Vwhatever in this existing typek of annealing furnace, excepting the extension of the annealing tubes beyond the wall of the furnace proper. Therefore it will be understood thatl my invention does not deal with that class of annealing 'apparatus in which the annealing tubes or chambers and the Wire passing therethrough are heated solely by jets of inflammable gas entering the have found that it is essential to the success of the invention, that is to the prevention of scaling of the wire as it leaves the tube, that the flame should complet-ely fill the interior of the tube at its exit end. l

An annealing furnace of the known type tubes at intervals in their length. l Further I b efore specified, with my invention applied thereto, is illustrated at Figure 1 by a longitudinal vertical section showing the exit end portion of the tubes, Fig. 2 being an end ele.- vation of the same, and Fig. 3 a sectional plan ofthe parts shown at Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional end elevation on a larger scale than the previous figures, showing a pair of annealing-tubes and a burner tube 'entering the same at right angles to the axes of the tubes, Fig. 5 being a sectional side elevation of the lower portion of suoli a burner tube.

The Wire 1 in the ordinary annealing furnace here l.shown passes through reclay tubes 2, which latter extend through the aheating flues of an oven. This oven is provided with` several furnaces 3 at distances apart throughout the length, only one of these furnaces near the exit end of the oven, being shown at Fig. 1, and the products of combustion' from the furnaces 3 pass in toa lower passage 4 and then into an upper-palssage 5, in Which latter passage the annealing tubes are located and rest upon a floor'. In these ordinary wire annealing ovens, the wire 1, after passing through the requisite length of annealing tube 2, is drawn .out through the full open end of said tube into the atmosphere.

Now according to the present`invention, I extend the structure beyond the end wall of the furnace, so that the annealing tubes 2 terminate coineident with the termination of the extending brickwork structure7 which is supported upon a plate 8 and pillars'Q.

tmospheric burners are then fitted, each A50 combination with an oven, furnaces to heat consisting of a tube 10 through which atmospheric air andv combustible gas pass, the exit end of the burner tube 10 `passing through the lower' wall of the annealing tube at right angles to the length of the same and near the exit end so as to open intothe -interior of Asaid annealing tube near said exit end, so that the llame from these atmos-- pheric burner tubes closes, as it were, the mouths of the annealing tubes.

A suitable construction of the atmospheric burner is shown on a larger scale at Figs'. 4 -l and 5, Where it will be seen that the tube 10 i enters the base of the annealing tubes 2 between two of the tubes, and a communi-4 cation passage 1l is formed between the pairy of tubes, the upper surface of the communication passage l1 being inclined in opposite. directions as shown, so that the flame from the burner tube 10 is divided and directed into the exit ends ofthe adjacent annealing tubes, and since such tube l0 is located quite near the exit ends. of the tubes, the said exit' ends are, as it were, closed by the iiame', 'and the wire proceeding from these tubes I havel. found by experience, does not scale, is Vnot subjected to a loss in weight, and. is j not diminished in its strength, nor is Aits surface roughened. A y

Asshown in the drawings, the oven is constructed, see Figs. 2 and 3, with a series of annealing tubes 2, through each' of which two wires may pass, and the burner tubes 10 are fitted in any convenient or well known manner sol that they can be easily removed for replacement by new tubes when-required.

The tubes 10 are supplied with air through anv-'openin 12,*Figs. 4 and .Fal-communicating wit the atmosphere andalso air at @greater than atmospheric pressure,` can be adm itted'as required througha nozzle 13, Fig. 5, from apipe 14 controlled by a valvev` 15, the combustible gas is supplied throu a passage 16 from a pipe 17 18A being t e main air supply pipe communicating with all uthe pipes 14, and 19 the'main gas'supply pipe. i

' I'claim as .my invention: I 11' Y'Inmian apparatus for annealing wire, the

said'ovn, and'iireclay annealing tubes passing in Y a `:straight line through said oven' throughgwhich tubes said wire is drawn, the exit ends of said annealing tubes extending beyond` the end wall of the oven and having full open ends, of burner tubes for conveying combustible gas and air entering through the walls of said annealing tubes at right angles tothe lengthv of same near the full o en exit ends thereof and beyond the end wa l of the oven, and means for conveying combustible gas and air to said burner tubes whereby the interior of said annealing tubes near the exit ends thereof, can be filled with lflame, substantially as set forth.

combination said oven, in a straight line through said ovenhaving full open ends, 'theexitends tubes extending beyond the end wall of the yoven and a brickwork beyond said endrwall of thev oven to support and cover nealing combustible gas'andl air exit ends, yand means for' bustible-gas *and air .to vsaid burner tubes, whereby the interior of said near the exit ends thereof can be filled with flame, substantially as set forth.

the latter with convey pressure air and `brano tending from Asaid air .main respectively to and opening into the lower' ends -off 'said' burner tubes to convey pressureair, substantially'as set forth. i j `an apparatus for annealing wire, the combination with an oven, furnaces to heeft said oven, iireclavfannealingtubesV 'assing adjacent to leach through saidoven wires to be annealed are rawn, the exit ends j of said lannealing Jtubes extendingbeyond the end wall ofends and having a communication passage formed between each two adjacent annealing tubes near the same, of a burner tube for conveylng combustible gas and air entering i each pair of said exit ends of the throu annea ing tubes, and munication passa e a for-,conveying com ustible gas and air to said wires to be annealed 2*. vIn an apparatus for annealing wire, the with an oven, furnaces to heat iireclay annealing tubes passing of said annealin the projecting ends 'of said antubes, 'of burner tubes for conveying Iassing through the ower walls of said annealingiitubes and openng into the interior' thereof` near the open conveying com.-

annealing tubes ln anl apparatus for annealingwirer the combination with an oven, furnaces to heat said oven, iireclayannealing tubes passing in a straight line through said oven having full open ends, 4 tubes extending beyond the end wall of the. Voven anda brickwork structure extending beyond said end wall of the oven to support and cover the projecting ends of said .an-. nealing tubes, of combustible gas and air lower walls of said annea ing tubes and opening into thev interior thereof near the open exit ends, a main gas the exit ends of said annealing burner tubes for conveying assinfr supply pipe, branches rom said gas supply' pipe communicating respectively with the burner tubes to supply gas, a main air supply pipe to pipes eX- other `inl a straig t line vthrou h which tubes the th' 'oven, having full open the vertical dividing wall of h the base between opening into the 'comb'urner tubes, substantially as set forth.A

Y In an apparatus for annealing wire, the combination with an oven, furnaces to heat,- said oven, ireclay y'annealing tubes kadjacent to each other in a straight line A .through said oven through which tubesjthe are drawn, the exit ends A of said annealing tubesA extending beyondassing oresaid,y and means structure extending through the v rse the end wall of the oven, having lull open l ends, having a communication passage formed between the vertical dividing wall of each two adjacent annealing tubes near the exit ends of same, the upper wall of said communication passage having oppositely inclined surfaces to divide and divert the flame into the adjacent annealing tubes, of

a burner tube for conveying combustible gas I and air entering through the base between each pair of said annealing tubes and opening into the communication passage aforesaid, and means for conveying combustible gas and air to said. burner tubes, substantially as set Jforth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the 'presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HENRY ROBERTS.

Witnesses'. y

GRIFFITH. BREWER, THOMAS W. ROGERS. 

